I started an Abstract Painting class at the Sharon Lynn Wilson Center in Brookfield, Wisconsin last week. We played with black squares and a circle to communicate words. We looked at the color wheel and started quilt paintings by blending the different colors. And here is my homework assignment, a color wheel. It’s been about 30 years since I’ve made a color wheel and I think it had always been with watercolors before. With this configuration I could use primary colors (red, yellow, blue) to create secondary colors (orange, green, violet,) tertiary colors (red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, red-violet,) and quartenary colors (russet, buff, citron, sage, slate, and plum.) The quartenary colors were new to me. I was intrigued that you can get them by mixing the two adjacent colors or by using the closest outer triangle with a little of the opposite triangle (example: russet = violet+orange OR russet = red + a little green!)

I was amazed that the 2 1/2 hour class flew by and I can’t wait to go back again this week. I’ll post my completed quilt painting (I’m calling it that, but I’m trying to make it not look like a quilt!)

I pulled my tail out of bed at 5 a.m. this morning to drive an hour and a half to Madison, Wisconsin to attend the Wildwood Institute’s Herb Garden Walk. The tour was given by Kathleen Wildwood, owner of the Institute and her students. They introduced the medicinal uses of about 7 plants she is growing in the herb garden of her house. Across the street is a house she rents for classes.

I was surprised how much I already knew and also how much there is to learn. I am bowled over by the many plants we can grow right here that have powerful medicine in them if you know how to use them.

Kathleen, like a lot of herbalists, asked us to, “Ask permission of the plant to pick a leaf.” And she thanked the wind and the plants at the end of her talk. As a person of Christian faith I am sad when the creation is honored and worshipped rather than the Creator, so I just substituted my thanks To God for His many gifts in nature to us. I don’t think Kathleen would mind.

All in all I was very glad I went and I am energized to grow calendula! More on that later I have lemon balm to harvest.